Labeling machine



March 10, 1925. 1,529,043

' I c. H. WILD LABELING MACHINE 'Fi'le'd Oct. 13, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 10, 1925. 1,529,643

C. H. WILD LABELING MACHINE Filed Oqt: 13, 1921 3 Sheets-sheet 2 (@aauaamaa @m ijitim;

MOWMI March 10, 1925. 1,529,043 c. H. WILD LABELING MACHINE F'ne'a b-t- 1:5. 192; z Sheet-Sheet s abtormzq Patented Mar. 10,1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. WILD; OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO BURT MACHINE COM- PANY, INCORPORATED, A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND.

LABELING MACHINE.

Application filed October 18, 1921. Serial No. 507,451

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l. CHARLES H. WILD, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of Baltimore, State of h'laryland, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Labeling Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to the feeding of labels in packs from which they are removed one at a time in connection with the operation of a machine as in wrapping, labeling and the like. In the previous machines of this type the labels are fed by means of a table which supports the pack of labels adjacent. the path of the cans or packages and thrusts them gradually forward into the path so that as the labels are taken up one at a time in the operation of the machme,

the entire remaining pack advances until the last label is used when the machine is stopped either auton'iatically or by hand to prevent the passing of unlabeled cans or packages. A new pack of labels can be placed in the machine and the machine started again in a few seconds but the machine must be idle until the operator is ready to attend to it and as it is difficult to convince the average operator of the necessity for keeping the machines constantly running, the result is that one or more machines are frequently idle and in the absence of the very best of factory discipline each machine is idle for a considerable period during any working day with a corresponding loss in ciiiciency of the entire factory.

An object of the present invention is to dispense with the necessity for stopping the machine to replenish the labels and to otherwise increase the speed and efficiency of its operation in general. To this end I have provided in connection with the table additional means for supporting the pack to be operated when acertain predetermined portion of the pack has been fed permitting the table to be withdrawn long before the labels are consumed so that a new pack can be supplied to become immediately available without cessation of or variation in the operation of the machine when the remainder of the preceding pack has been consumed.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a can labeling machine embodying the features of my invention in the preferred form. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a labeling machine including only the central portion of the machine and illustrating particularly the label feeding mechanism with the improved label support;

Figure 2 is a transverse section through the machine on a plane at right angles to the plane of Figure 1, passing through the center of the label feed showing the label support of my invention together with the label table and the surrounding portions of the machine.

Figure 3 is a plan of the label feeding portion of the machine;

'Figures 4 and 5 are detail views of the alarm mechanism;

Figure 6 is an elevation of the label table, label pack and paste pot showing the frame of the machine in section, the same being taken just forward. i. e., to the right in F igure 1 of the label table; it shows the remainder of an old pack of labels supported by the lifting knives. It also shows a new pack of labels inserted beneath the'knives which are about to be withdrawn.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, the machine as shown includes the usual stand 1, longitudinal frame 2. can feeding belt 3, table or ways 4 and side rails 5. the label table being indicated by reference character 6. Asshown it is mounted on a rod or leg 7 which slides vertically in a suitable upright bearing 9.

The spring in the instance illustrated is in the form of a coil or clock spring 10 which tends to rotate the disc or pulley 11 to which is secured a band 12 which is also attached to the leg 7 near its lower extremity. The rotative tendency applied to the pulley by the spring is just sufficient to raise the table with the labels feeding them with sufficient rapidity to provide for the taking up of one label by each can as it passes through the machine. Such a machine particularly as to the can feed, &c., is fully illustrated in Patent No. 1,323,940 to Whitehurst and Wild.

The label support of the invention comprises a plurality of substantially horizontal supporting knives or plates 15, extending in a direction transverse to the feed of prising forward rollers 17 and rear rollers 18 by means of which it rides on a cam-like track or path 19 being actuated or moved forward thrusting the knives across the path of the labels at the will of the operator, by means of an arm 22, pivoted at 23 at a considerable radius below the track and having a slot or jaws 24: at its upper end engagmg a pin 25 on the carriage which may as illustrated be the axle of the rollers 17.

The shaft or pivot 23 is controlled and swung through-a suitable arc to give the desired operation of the carriage by means of a hand lever 26 which projects from the shaft at a convenient angle giving in the present instance the appearance of a bell crank lever 22-23-26. The carriage is maintained in the desired contact with the track by means of a. plate spring 27 shown as L shaped in elevation to provide convenient means for fastening it to the frame or otherwise to a rigid support at 28, the horizontal portion 29 being the operative part of the spring. This is offset in a horizontal plane to bring it into contact with the rollers from above.

- The track 19 is cam-like or shouldered to give the desired motion to the knives raismg them after they have entered beneath the labels so as to raise the labels and press them upward giving a feeding action which is substituted for the feed accomplished by the table.

To this end the cam track .19 has shoulders 30, 31 and 35. The shoulders 30 and 31 which engage the rollers 18 and 17 respectively in the withdrawn or initial position of the knives and carriage serve as positioning means for the moving members. To the rearward of the respective shoulders or to the left in Figure 2 are fiat or horizontal surfaces,32, to the left or back of shoulder 30, 33, similarly related to shoulder 31 and 36 likewise related to shoulder 35. While the shoulders 30 and 31 are referred to as positioning shoulders, the forward of these 31 also has an effect in connection with the rear roller 18 tending to made in four steps separated bythe three shoulders 30, 31 and 35.

The carriage and knives or plates are shown in Figure 2 in their-*rearmost or withdrawn position. On account of the relation of the'rollers to the knives andto the cam or track surfaces and of the knives to the labels and the carriage, the rollers are spaced apart by a distance equal to the table being preferably slotted or grooved at 39, 40 and 41 to provide for convenient insertion of the knives beneath the label pack.

As the knives are passing beneath the label pack,==the rollers 17 and 18 are traversing the flat surfaces 33' and 36. In other words, they are held in horizontal position andmoving in a horizontal plane or direction. Asrthey approach the end of their traverse, the roller 18 encounters the shoulder 31, and the roller 17 at the same time encounters the shoulder 35,' so that the knives are raised without any change of angularity, applying upward pressure to the label pack or rather the remainder of the pack, it being of course understood that the device is for the purpose of supporting the more or' less consumed label pack during the insertion of a new pack of labels.

While the knives may be more or less resilient, the principal dependence for the resilient pressure on the labels is placed upon the spring 27 which at the time of the upward thrust of the knives is in engagement with the rearmost roller 18. The downward pressure of the labels on the knives which project forwardly from the carriage and from the roller 17 tends to rotate the carriage and knives to the right about the axle of this roller in a right handed direction. This tends to raise the rear roller 18 which being engaged from above by the spring 27 receives a resilient pressure therefrom tending to rotate the carriage in a left handed-direction and therefore opposing the pressure applied to the knives by the labels and providing a resilient support therefor.

In order that the label lifter or support may be correctly timed when manually operated, it being understood that an automatic operation could be easily arranged if'desired, an alarm has been provided to call the attention of the operator to the fact that the label pack has been used to an extent which inakes it desirable to provide a new supply of labels. As soon as the alarm rings the operator has merely to apply pressure to the lever 26 to operate this device and lift the label pack from the table holding it in feeding position and releasing the table so that it can be depressed to receive a new pack of labels.

Thisalarin consists of a gong or bell 45, supported on a bracket 46 adjacent the label table leg or rod 7 and a tappcr or striker 4T therefor, mounted on the end of a. spring 48 which has the operation of a bar or plate spring, the spring being secured to the bracket at 49 so that the striker normally remains in contact with the gong but this spring for added resiliency as shown is in the form of a coil spring. the transverse resilience of which is utilized in this instance instead of the longitudinal tension or compression. The tapper 47 as shown has a projecting arm 50 which extends into the path of a detent 51 secured to the table leg or rod 7 at a convenient point thereon for contact with the bell tapper by any suitable means such as a clamp 52. It is quite clear from inspection of the drawings, that the detent which is adjustable by moving the clamp up and down the leg or rod 7 being adjusted to the proper height will come in contact with the arm 50 of the tapper 47 as the table rises bending the tapper or more correctly the spring by which it is carried upward and backward until a point is reached where the detent will pass the arm 50 releasing the tappe-r and striking the bell.

If the alarm is to be used the striker should be so adjusted that the alarm will be so sounded just before the table reaches the height of the knives in their middle position so that the operator by immediately depressing the hand lever 26 causes the knives to pass beneath the labels applying the spring pressure of the knives and carriage to them in a feeding direction and releasing the table as aforesaid.

The cans or packages in passing through the machine are glue coated by roller 53 in glue pot 56 and pick up the labels one at a time as they pass over the label pack. The over lapping edge of each label is coated with paste by means of a pasting belt 60 illustrated particularly in Figure 3, driven by pulley 61 and passing over guide rollers 62, 63 and 64, the latter being in the paste pot 65 through which the belt passes, being thereby suitably charged with paste which it transfers to the edge of each label at the top of the pack. To this end the bottom traverse of the belt crosses the path of the cans at 66 just above and substantially in contact with the ways 67 and each can as it passes presses the belt down into contact with the edge of the top label just before the notation of the can as it'rolls forward, pulls the label from beneath the belt. The traverse of the belt. the downward pressure of the can and the pulling of the label provides the necessary rubbing or brushing of the paste on the label and as the can rolls forward the two ends of the label are pressed together completing the transfer from the pack to the can. The remainder of the operation has been fully described in connection with the description of the mechanism.

I have thus described specifically and in detail a single embodiment of my invention so that the nature and operation of the same may be clearly understood, however, the specific'terms herein are used descriptively rather than in a limiting sense, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

What I claim and dcsire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for applying labels to packages or cans, means for feeding the packages or cans along a predetern'iined path, paste applying means, means for thrusting a pack of labels toward the path of the packages or cans so that they can be taken up one at a time by the packages or cans as they pass, including a label table with means tending to advance the same toward the said path and means for temporarily supporting the'labels carried by the table so that a new pack of labels can be placed thereon without stopping the machine, :onsisting of a supporting member and means for thrusting the same between the labels and the table and resilient means tending to move said support and the labels toward the path of the packages or cans.

2. In a machine for applying labels to packages or cans, means for feeding the packages or cans along a predetermined path, paste applying means, means for thrusting a pack of labels toward the path of the packages or cans so that they can be taken up one at a time by the packages or cans as they pass. including a label table with means tending to advance the same toward the said path, a supporting plate for the labels, a carriage or said plate and a track for said carriage disposed transversely of the machine and toward the path of the label table and means for moving said carriage along said path thrusting the plate between the label and the table and resilient means tending to move said plate in the direction of the label feed, lifting the labels off the table and freeing the latter so that it can receive a new pack of labels.

3. In a machine for applying labels to packages or cans, means for feeding the packages or cans along a predetermined tit) A path, paste applying means, means for taken up one at a time by the packages or cans as they pass, including a label table with means tending to advance the same toward the said path and means for lifting the labels from the table andproviding a substitute support therefor, consisting of supporting knives, the carriage to which the knives are secured projecting forwardly therefrom, a track for the carriage disposed toward the path of the label table and means for moving the carriage along the track, thrusting the knives through the path of the labels, the track having a cam-like formation with a shoulder to be engaged by the forward roller as the knife blades complete their stroke raising the knife blades and resilient means tending to maintain the carriage in contact with the track and embodyin a yielding pressure to the labels in the irection of their feed.

4. In a machine for applying labels to cans or packages, means for feeding labels in packs consisting of a label table, means for thrusting the table forward in the direction of the feed, and means for supporting the labels and thereby releasing the table to provide for the insertion of a new pack of labels, and means for moving said support transversely to the motion of the table.

5. In a machine for applying labels to cans or packages, means for feeding labels in packs consisting of a label table, means for thrusting the table forward in the direction of the feed, means for supporting the labels and thereby releasing the table to provide for the insertion of a new pack of labels, said means consisting of a support ing knife, means for moving the knife transversely to the label feed thrusting it through the path of the labels and means for 1'3.1S ing the knife after it has entered the path of the labels.

6. The combination of means for feeding paper sheets in packs consisting of a table and means for advancin the table in the direction of the feed an means for releasing the table to provide for the insertion of a new pack, consisting of a knife, means for moving the knife transversely of the feed, and means for raising the knife after it has entered the path of the feed.

7. Means for feeding paper sheets in packs -consisting of a support, means for advancing the support in the direction of the feed and means for releasing the support to provide for the insertion of a new pack consisting of knives, means for moving the knives transversely of the feed between the support and the pack and meansfor raising the knives after they have entered the path of the feed and a resilient member controlling said latter means. a

8. In a machine for applying labels to cans or packages, means for feeding cans or packages through the machine, means for feeding the labels in packs transversely to the first named feed, said means including a support and means for raising the support; means for freeing said support before the labels thereon are consumed to provide for the insertion of a new pack consisting of a second support; means for thrusting the same into the path of the label feed and resilient means tending to raise said second support. V

9. In a machine for applying labels to cans or packages, means for feeding labels in packs consisting of a label table, means for thrusting the table forward in the direction of the feed, means for supporting' the labels releasing the table to provide forthe insertion of a new pack of labels, manually operable means for actuating'said support movlng it beneath the labels an alarm and means for actuating the same from the feed to indicate the time for operating the support.

10. In a machine for applyin labels to cans or packages, means for fee ing labels in packs consisting of a label table, means for thrusting the table forward in the direction of the feed, means for supporting the labels releasing the table 'to rovide for the insertion of a new pack of la els, said means consisting of supporting knives, means for movin the knives transversely to the label feed thrusting-them through the path of the labels and means for raising the knives after they have entered the path of the labels, a .manually operated member for actuating the latter means an alarm, and means actuating the same from the feed to indicate the time for operating the said member.

Signed by me at Baltimore, Maryland, this 30th day of September, 1921.

CHARLES H. WILD.

Witnesses:

PORTER I-I. FLAU'IT, CARRIE M. REELY. 

